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Book Week Scotland artwork unveiled at Stockbridge Library

The waiting is over. Stockbridge Library’s special Book Week Scotland artwork was unveiled earlier today.

‘Under the Shy Moon’ was created by artist Rachel Barron and takes the form of a vinyl installation and geometric mobile, which is suspended from the beams within the library.

Image credit: Rob McDougall

Rachel explained:“Working directly with the architecture of the library, the installation has been made in response to Jackie Kay’s poem, which expresses the excitement and aspirations of an expectant mum. Inspired by astronomy and lunar cycles, the artwork represents the phases of our journey through life, using a gradient of colours. I am delighted to be part of the ‘Artworks for Libraries’ project, as it has allowed me to develop my work within a new context, towards my first permanent public artwork. It has been a pleasure to meet and work with the library community during the creative engagement workshops.”

The artwork was inspired by Dear Library, a poem written by best-selling Scottish author and playwright Jackie Kay as part of Book Week Scotland. Dear Library highlights the important role that libraries can play at every stage of an individual’s life, from childhood to old age. Rachel was given one verse of the poem to inspire her artwork, written from the perspective of an expectant mother. The full poem can be read on the Book Week Scotland website.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Convener for Culture and Sport at the City of Edinburgh Council said: “Thanks to Book Week Scotland, Stockbridge Library is now the proud home of Rachel Barron’s one-of-a-kind literary inspired artwork, which was developed with local children and their families. The library is a place anyone can visit freely, which means people across Edinburgh can stop by when they are in the area to take a look and enjoy the installation. We hope the artwork will entice people to visit their local library and appreciate how much more there is to the surroundings and services.”

Stockbridge is the first of five Book Week Scotland artworks to be revealed this week, with Musselburgh, Saltcoats, Lennoxtown and Shetland due to be revealed over the next four days. Each artwork is inspired by a different verse of Dear Library and members of the communities have been given the opportunity to work with the artists during the creative process.